Drilling rigs are known and used for identifying geologic reservoirs of natural resources, such as oil, for example, and also to create holes that allow the extraction of natural resources from those reservoirs. The extraction process begins by positioning the drilling rig over the site to be drilled. Drilling rigs can be mobile and driven from site to site or can also be more permanent structures positioned over the drilling site.
The process begins by drilling a hole deep into the Earth. A long drill bit attached to a section of “drilling string” is used for this purpose. After each section is drilled, a steel pipe slightly smaller than the hole diameter is dropped in and often cement is used to fill the outer gap. The steel pipe is called a casing and provides structural integrity to the drilled hole. As the drill bit progresses deeper, additional sections of pipe need to be added to the drilling string to allow the drill bit to move further into the Earth. Typically, workers standing on the drilling rig take the additional sections of pipe, one by one, and screw them onto the drilling string, as needed. The additional sections of pipe are delivered to the site and then raised one by one to the workers with a crane. Currently, oil rigs are accessed by workers from the ground with a step ladder.
The present disclosure addresses problems and limitations with the related art.